Notices

I am wondering if it is possible to connect a 3G enabled N900 to an iPad via bluetooth to share its internet connection ("tethering")?

The goal is to use the N900 for its internet connection by connecting a Wi-Fi only iPad via Bluetooth to the N900 to surf the web at 3G speeds. I realize the N900 provides the ability to turn itself into a Wi-Fi access point, but I am looking to go the bluetooth route.

Does the N900 bluetooth stack support this setup with the iPad?

You mentioned iPod and iPad.

I haven't tested on an iPod. However, I've tested Bluetooth PAN tethering on both the iPad and iPad2 in the past. They both work great, and best of all, the n900 will support multiple bluetooth pan tethering connections at the same time! It was a great little invisible, private hotspot until the cellular modem broke down on me.

I did mean the iPad (the "iPod" was a typo), so it does look like the N900 supports this important functionality.

Which PR release did you test it on?

bluetooth is slow , it has limited bandwidth .
Install Qt hostspot mobile and make wireless network then connect to it with iPad.

I would think bluetooth should be fast enough to keep up with a 3G/4G cellular connection, no?

There are two possibilities first with bt dun and second with bt pan. With bt pan you will need the power kernel and activate routing.

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=58570

http://wiki.maemo.org/N900_Bluetooth...ent#Nokia_N900

And with bluetooth pan you can also do it the other way around get internet from a pc over bt for example.

i believe the max speeds for bluetooth is about 8mb/s which covers 3g speeds. it won't cover 4g speeds but that's not something you should be worried about on your n900.

bluetooth pan > wifi hotspots imo:
- uses less power
- doesn't require actually require having to pick up your n900 assuming you leave bluetooth on regularly (see the bluetooth pan thread and dbus scripts setup for more)
- more security through obscurity
> doesn't require you to broadcast your mobile hotspot so others won't be tempted to even try to connect
> requires a mac address white list setup by default (nature of bluetooth pairing) as opposed to just having the correct key
> less likely to get a malicious person out there sniffing bluetooth signals vs wifi signals
> less range for a malicious person to even be able to see your signal, yet plenty for a personal hotspot

Though using QT Hotspot might be more user-friendly as it'll setup everything for you, you do gain a ton more flexibility in setting up your own hotspot via scripts. For example, you can do any of the following:
- specify your own ip range
- specify prefered dns servers
- create personalized connection notifications
- allow support for both ad-hoc wifi and bluetooth tethering for multiple devices simultaneously
All of the above is already done with the scripts provided in the bluetooth pan tethering thread.

Additionally, though it's a very specific need, I have personally found being able to customize my own tethering script to use wifi rather than gprs super useful. My specific needs revolved around locked down corporate network settings on my laptop only allowing the use of class A networks. Using the n900, we can nat any available wifi network into a class A network, having the n900 play double duty as a gateway and personal firewall. Keep in mind that if you do this, though you can protect your from intruders this way, the security of the information going in and out is still dependent on the security between the n900 and the service provider...

I miss my n900... *sigh*

Thanks for the detailed explanation jschan and everyone else. It looks like bluetooth is certainly the way to go. Hopefully the aging N900 will hold up.

Hi, I have installed the bluetooth dial-up networking app but when I try to connect my n900 to my ipad, it says the n900 isn't compatible. Do you have any idea of what i need to do?
Am I missing somerhing here?

Thanks for your help